Time
by WarJunkie90
Summary: 2018 is not some average year for Stan Marsh. But one of many anniversaries he's not forgotten since that day. Many winters ago.


**-Time-**

A Wednesday. It was a cold winter December 5th Wednsday at the South Park Public Cemetery, where a 25 year old Stan Marsh sat in the drivers seat of an old burgundy 03 Impala, looking through the frosted windshield at the Cemetery enterance. _"I can't believe it's been this long." _Stan said to himself. _"17 long years since you died. And the day i missed the chance to say goodbye."_. Stan the exits his car, with a small layer of snow coming off as the door swung open and closed. He began his treck across the road to enterance, remote locking his door along the way. Walking through the gates and passing the countless crosses and headstones that dotted the land. Finding the the correct grave and site marker, Stan finally locates Kenny's grave.

"_Here it is. Site 219 - Row 3. The one right under the tree.". _Getting down on one knee, Stan takes a cloth to wipe the layer of snow off the headstone and places a bundle of yellow roses against the stone. Cleaning the stone further, he slowly begins to uncover the both the name and dates and final texts. The snow gave way to the visible letters. [**KENNETH "KENNY" MCCORMICK MARCH 22, 1993 - DECEMBER 5, 2001 BELOVED SON, BROTHER, AND FRIEND. REST IN PEACE LITTLE ANGEL**]. As the full text became entirely visible, Stan fell to both his knees in grief. _"Why God?. Why us? Why me?.. Why Kenny?"._ Stan said with frustration while composing himself. _"Well Ken. Here we are again. for the seventeenth time out of every year. I suppose you already know about the i miss you and all that stuff. So i'll just get down to it. Cartman's doing time in Lompoc for assaulting a cop. Kyle's a systems analyst in Salt Lake City. And me.. Well i'm barely hanging in there.". _As Stan finnished, he said his goodbyes as he embraced the cold solid stone. _"I miss you man.. Catch ya later.". _With that, Stan stood back up and walked out of the row of graves while turning around to see Kenny's grave one last time and walking out.

Driving back to his rented house, a house that was a few blocks away from his old childhood home. Pulling into the open garage, Stan puts the car in park and gets out. Watching the garage door slowly close, he sighed. Walking through the inside enterance door, he pulls off his cold dripping hat, and jacket and dumps the pile by the washing machine. Walking into the kitchen he tries to find something to drink, only finding case of beer way in the back. Grabbing the case, he takes it to the dark living room to recline in his chair. After dowining half the case, Stan staggers his way out of the seat and up the stairs to his bedroom, and slides open the closet door to rummage through some old photo albums. Opening the book shuffeling through the pages, he comes to some pictures that had both him and Kenny in them.

"_These are from kinder, all the way through 4th grade. God, look how happy i was.. Where did the time go?"_ Stan said with a depressive tone. Just then he, found a specific picture. One that was taken during the summer at a beach in California, just six months before Kenny passed. _"I remember this. Yeah, i remember that day like any other._

_*Flashback*_

_-(Stan) "Hey Kenny over here! Throw it to me!"-_

_-(Kenny) "Go deep man!"-_

_-(Stan) "I got it, i got it!"-_

_-(Stan) "Yeah, got it! Goin to you!"-_

_-(Kenny) "Over here, i'm open!"-_

_-(Kenny) "Fuck yeah! Future NFL right here bitch!"-_

_-(Stan) "Hahaha, yeah right! After me!"-_

_-(Kenny) "Oh is that so?"-_

_-(Stan) "Thats right!"-_

_-(Kenny) "Then tackle me bitch! See if you got the power!"-_

_-(Stan) "Too late fool!"-_

_-(Kenny) "Ahhh! Bitch!"- _

_-(Kenny) "Shit, your fast dude. I didn't even see you."-_

_-(Stan) "Thats cause i'm better."-_

_-(Stan) "And thats why i'll make it to the Broncos before you!"-_

_-(Kenny) "Is that a fact?"-_

_-(Stan) "You bet your ass it is."-_

_-(Kenny) "We'll see. Come here!"- _

_-(Stan) "Ah hay, watch it ya whore!"-_

_-(Kenny) "What? Big bad Broncos man can't take alittle roughness?"-_

_-(Sharon) "Stanley, Kenny! Come here boys i want to get a picture of you two before we leave!"-_

_-(Stan) "Ok mom! C'mon dude lets go!"-_

_-(Sharon) "Ok boys, stand right there against the sunset. Ready? Say Bronco busters!"_

_-(Stan) "Broncos busters!"-_

_-(Kenny) "Bronco busters!"-_

_("Click and Flash")_

_*End of Flashback*_

Staring at that very picture, Stan notices drops of water on the protective plastic cover over the picture. They were the tears that ran down from his face. "*Snifs* _I can't take this_.". Stan closes the album, and places the album next to his night stand, and searches throught the closet for a spare jacket, heads back down stairs, and out the front door. Taking a walk down the street, following the dimly lit street lamps down and around the corner. After some time walking, he finds himself entering his old neighborhood. Noticing the boarded up doors and windows, broken out lamps, overgrown lawns, graffiti, abandon cars and more. Coming to a stop, Stan faces the front of a well too familiar house. It was Kenny's old house._ "God, i can't believe its still here. I'm suprised that no crackheads burnt it down yet."._

Stan then walks up to the house, over the crumbling walkway and up to the front door. He jiggles the handle to see if it was unlocked, and with all luck, it was._ "Alright."_ Stan pushed the door open to get a glimpse of inside a house he hadn't been in for nearly 16 years. Stan walks into the house and into the living room. _"Man, this is so depressing."._ Walking over to the fireplace, he looks to the floor to see old chirstmas decorations lying about, with cracked up tiles that have fadded over time. Turning around and heading down a hallway, Stan makes his way to Kenny's room. At the bedroom door, he turns the knob. Pushing open the door, Stan gets a glance at the partially dilapidated room. Still, sitting in their respected places, was most of Kenny's belongings. His old bed, now covered in parts of the ceiling, the old TV and entertainment center, long since broken and collapsed, his dresser, mostly intact. Noticing, the open closet, Stan walks over to the doors and pushes them open.

Seeing how dark it was, Stan uses his lighter to see more clearly. Scattered on the floor of course were some of Kenny's; now long since too small clothes. But upon those clothes, he sees one of few spare pairs of orange parkas. Picking up the jacket, Stan wonders. _"It's like they just got up and left everything."_. The truth being mostly that. Once Kenny died, things just sort of broke down and fell apart. His mother and father split up in the months following. After that, the kids were split up between the two, with Kevin going with Stuart, and his sister going with his mother. Stuart has since moved to Fresno, while his mother moved to Boulder to live with her sister. Once they did that, it was like they didn't want to take anything that would remind them of Kenny. Stan clearly remembered trying to talk to both of Kenny's parents in the weeks following, but was entirely rebuffed. Usually due to their constant arguing and fighting about who was to blame.

Having seen enough of the remains of the room, Stan slings the parka over his shoulder and exits the room. On his way back to the sliding door enterance, Stan herd a crunched glass sound under his foot. _"What the hell?"_ Stan wondered. It was a picture frame. A picture that again showed both boys when they were in their first day of kindergarten at South Park Elementary. _"Hmm. Will you look at that." _Stan gives a knod and smile to the simmering image, places the photo in his pocket and leaves the house. "_They didn't take almost anything. But atleast they left something for me to remember Kenny by.". _Coming back to his house, Stan goes back to the garage, gets back into his car and decides to go for another drive. Going down a road, a road ripe with black ice, Stan barely manages to keep the car steady and not to spin out of control. Still feeling largely buzzed from the four Bud-Light bottles he downed earlier, aswell as feeling tired, as it was almost around 11:00 at night.

Stan switches on the stereo to find a station to listen to that will ease his tenseing. Coming to a fimiliar party tune that was a favourite of both his and Kenny's. Something he hadn't herd in ages. Vengaboys - "We Like to Party". The hypnotising beat really made Stan mellow out. Infact it did just that. It hypnotized him. _"This shit's good."_ Stan's eyes were open and completely focused onto the center yellow lines in the road. Soon enough, he went from his highway hypnotized state, to drifting into the left lane. Just then, the bright pair of amber headlights from a pick up truck had instantly appeared, followed by a loud horn blast. "Oh _shit!". _Being instantly snapped out of the music hypnosis, Stan attempted to steer clear of the truck but was too late. Stan just barely missed the truck, but was now loosing control and fish-tailing all over the road. After three to four 360 degree spins, the Impala finally goes off road, and rolls over several times until being stopped by a group of trees into the woods.

Over a sight of the Chevy's smashed up front and side ends. The doors and trunk forced open from the crash. And Stan's motionless body inside the drivers seat, with the steering wheel pushed up into his chest, and part of the roofs inner frame scrunched up so far close to Stan's head and blood ozzing from his nose and mouth. Down the road in the distance, the headlamps of a South Park Police cruiser was driving up. The car pulls over to the side, it's door light shined on the embankment, light bar flashing, to then an officer exits the cruiser. With flashlight in hand, the officer walks down the snow covered side and towards the dimmed taillights of the wrecked car. _"Hello! You ok?!". _The cop shouted out. As the officer appoached closer to the swung open driver side door, he got a glimpse of who it was. "_Oh fuck. Stan?"._ Just then for a few split seconds, Stan Marsh was able to open his eyes just barely to see who it was. One last time before passing out, Stan got a better look at the officer. Supprisingly enough, that cop was none other than Craig Tucker.

"_Hang in there Stan i'll get you out._" Craig using his radio mic._ "1-L-Mary-21, i got a rollover out here on the side of Starks Rd, next to Highway_ 285, _requesting EMS_.". *_Dispatch replies* [[Copy that. Rollover on Starks Rd, next to Hwy 285. Be advised, South Park Fire and Paramedics have been notified, over.]]" "Roger." _Craig replied_._ Going to the trunk of the cruiser, Craig grabs some red road flares and places them around the the road side and next to his cruiser. After placing the flares, Craig walks back to the wrecked car and kneels down by the door. "_Hold on Stan, their coming."_ But as the time went by, Stan slowly began drifting in and out of consciousness. With a flash of white light, the first vision coming into Stan's view was the very first day he met Kenny in pre-school. Then again is flashed back in and out of reality, with the noise of sirens blaring, and getting louder as they approached. Then with paramedics and firefighters cutting his car apart with the Jaws of Life.

*_Flashback to the first day of school_*

-(_Stan_) _"Hey. My names Stan. Whats yours?"-_

-(_Kenny_) _*muffled* I'm Kenny."-_

_*Flashback to present* _

_-(Firefighter) "Cut along the frame! Here, here and here!."-_

*_Flashback to Stan's 8th Birthday_*

_-(Kenny) *muffled* Happy Birthday Stan!-_

_-(Stan) "Thanks dude!"-_

_*Flashback to present* _

_-(Paramedic 1) "Here, get that brace on his neck!"-_

_-(Paramedic 2) "Careful with his chest, and get those de-fib pads on him!"-_

_-(Paramedic 3) "His pulse is dropping! We might have to shock him!"-_

_*Flashback to beach trip*_

_-(Sharon) "Say Bronco Busters!"-_

_-(Stan) "Bronco Busters!"-_

_-(Kenny "Bronco Busters!"-_

_("Click and Flash")_

_*Flashback to present*_

_-(Hospital Nurse) "Bring him over here!"-_

_-(Paramedic 1) "He has traumatic injuries around the chest and ribs, and likely has broken neck!"-_

_-(Hospital Doctor 1) "Right, get him to O.R. STAT, 3rd floor go!"-_

_-(Hospital Doctor 2) "His pulse is dropping. Fast!"-_

_-(Hospital Doctor 1) "Cut that shirt off of him, and ready him for a de-fib!"-_

_-(O.R. Tech) "De-fib paddles charged and ready!"-_

_-(Hospital Doctor 2) "Shocking in 3. 2. 1. Clear!"-_

_*Flashback to Kenny's funeral*_

_-(Priest) "We gather here today to say goodbye to young Kenneth McCormick."-_

_-(Stan) *Sobbing*-_

_-(Sharon) *Holding Stan* "Oh Stan, sweetheart, it'll be ok."-_

_*Flashback to present*_

_-(Hospital Doctor 1) "He's flatlined. Shock him again."-_

_-(Hospital Doctor 2) "3. 2. 1. Clear!"-_

_*Flashback to Cemetery visit*_

_-(Stan) "I miss you man.. Catch ya later."-_

_*Flashback to present*_

_-(Hospital Doctor 2) "No pulse."-_

_-(Hospital Doctor 1) "Damn. Alright stand by, gets some Epinephrine into the heart."-_

_-(O.R. Tech) "Injecting. Ok, it's in."-_

_-(Hospital Doctor 1) "Well? Anything?"-_

_-(Hospital Doctor 2) "No pulse."-_

_-(Hospital Doctor 1) "Alright, shock a flatline and we'll quit."-_

_-(Hospital Doctor 2) "Stand clear! Shocking!"-_

_*Flashback to the oncoming truck and crash*_

_-(Stan) "Oh shit!"-_

_[Truck horn blast]_

_[Crashing and slaming sounds]_

_[Blacking out]_

_*Back to present*_

_[Blackness/Sound of flatline tone/Echoed voices]_

_-(Hospital Doctor 1) "Right, i think thats all we can do. Call it. Whats the time?"-_

_-(Hospital Doctor 2) "12:02 AM."-_

A set of heavy eyelids then open. Inside a blue dimly lit room. A room that which appeared to be filled with body bags with what looked like bodies inside them. _"Oh fuck dude. What happened?". _The young apparition gets up from the floor while holding onto some steel racks. "_God, my head hurts. Whoa, Wha, what the fuck?!"_ The startled raven haird ghost said. _"The hell is this place? Whats going on here?!" _The apparition is startled at the sight of a body bag with a body in it that was right above the spot where he was laying. _"This is getting crazy. I must be dreaming. But theres only one way to find out." _Slowly, the lost spirit unzips the bag from the top. Revealing the stunning truth to the being. "_Wha-ahhhhhh!" _The being screamed in disbelief. The body inside the bag, was the body of Stan Marsh. Without a shaddow of a doubt. The raven haired being began to freak out even more, with uncontrolable sobbing. _"No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Please God no, it can't be me!"_.

The being fell back sitting to the floor in anguish. _"It can't be me. It just can't be."_ Words that the poor lost apparition seemed only to repeat. But the sad fact is, that it was him inside the bag on that cold rack. _"I gotta get out of here." _The raven haired spirit said to himself. Getting off the floor, and walking over to a large metal door, he rests his hands against the panic bar and slowly opens the door to an outside hallway. The hall was also dimly lit. Turning around to look at the name on the door. _"Morgue?" _Just then, a group of people and their shaddows were coming from around the far corner. "_Shit, i better hide." _Stan runs across the hall, and into a bathroom and locks the door. As the people on the other side pass by and their voices fade, Stan decides to break for a bit in the bathroom. Turning on the sink to splash some water on him, he turns on a light to make it easier to see. _"Whoa."_ Stan notices the cut wounds around his forehead, arms and face. Also noticing the large contusion wound on his chest that still oozed with blood. Touching it, he finds out that he can not feel a anything from the injury. Which confused Stan. He can open doors and turn on faucets, but can't feel pain from something that should be killing him to the touch?

Forgeting about cleaning up part, Stan turns off the water, lights, and leaves the bathroom. While walking down the hallway to turn the left corner, he notices the usual hospital staff just going back and fourth, or leaning against a vending machine. When instantly, a pair of doctors walked right passed him in front, so close that it would made anyone notice him standing there. "_Wow. They didn't even see me." _Noticing this new but odd ability, he takes this advantage to make a break for the hospitals front doors. Wasting no time, Stan runs feverently passed the many staff and EMTs in the reception area to the exit. Running passed a group of EMTs coming in through the doors, Stan darts out of the hospital. Outside, Stan notices the hospitals receving area, lifts his head to see the name of the hospital. It read Hells Pass Hospital. He dashes across the street in a westardly direction, and down Starks Rd heading back to the direction of his home.

After walking for what seemed a long while, the sight of South Park's lights and street lamps come into view. _"Jesus, that was a long ass walk. Anyway, it's nice to be back home."_ Coming to his house, Stan opens the door to his home and walks inside. Going upstairs into his bedroom, he simply plops down in exsaustion onto his bed. "_Fuck. Being dead seems like being alive.. Except it's like, everyone ignores you on purpose." -""Is it now?""- _A voice responds to Stan's omnimous statement. In a heartbeat, Stan pushes himself up off his matress, and whips his head around toward the direction of the voice. "_What the fuck?!.." _To Stan's amazement, he turns around to see none other than Kenny, leaning against his dresser. Out of all people who've noticed him so far, it was Kenny McCormick. "_Well Stan. You gonna sit there, or you gonna give your old friend a hug?" "You son of bitch.. You bet i am!"._

Stan leeps off his bed and charges over towards the blond haired being. "_Goddamn, i missed you buddy." "You missed me. But i missed you even more." "I bet you did. hahaha!" _Stan while ruffling Kenny's hair. "_Oh God. How are you Ken? Tell me really." "I'm fine. I've been here, there, and almost everywhere. You know, the ususal ghostly stuff." "You look.. different." "How so." "I mean. We were just little kids at the time, you look.. Like you've should be today." _Stan acknowledging Kenny's surprisingly drastic change. A 24/25 somethings look, Kenny sported an unzipped orange sweat hoodie, with the hood down. A pair of blue jeans and black t shirt, and at exactly Stan's height._ "Dude, you look so much.. Different." "Well, not entirely right? I mean, you still noticed me just a little?" "Yeah, maybe a little bit. Is there like some kind of rule in the next world; like you don't have to remain as a kid if you died as one or some shit like that?"_ Stan asked.

"_No, not really." _Kenny replied. _"It's more of something that can be accuired over time, and done at will. Once you get the hang of it of course. Watch. Let me give you a demonstration." _With that, Kenny's body slowly began to glow from the center out in a mint bluish glow that engulfed him entirely. Within seconds, Stan noticed the size and shape-shifting of Kenny's size and looks, morphed into his child form, then into his teenage form, and once again back into his adult form. "_Wow dude! Thats fucking amazing! I can't believe you can just change yourself like that!" "Yep." _Kenny replied_. "What else can you do?"_ Stan asked._ "Well i can do many other things, but you know Stan. There is a reason i'm here afterall." "Really?" "Yes. You see, Jesus himself told me that there was someone on earth i knew all too well that was in some desperate need of attention."._

_"Uhh, yeah.. Thats kind of what i had been wanting to tell you ever since you showed up. You see, i went to the cemetery to go see you again like i've done every year since you've been gone, and well. It's just.." "Just what dude?" _Kenny asked out of concern. _"Well, after every year that goes by, it seems that i get even more depressed. because your not here. Especially after almost everyone i knew in South Park has moved away, and i was left alone here to rot. So, when ever i think about you; rather it be those moments we had at the beach, at birthday parties, or even after school and weekends when we were simply chilling together. Us being with the others was cool, but i guess us being together really meant something special to me. Alot. So i guess when i went to the cemetery this year, it got me thinking, "Well, 17 years in. Now what? I guess i started coming to the realization that a 17th anniversary soon turns to a 20th_. _Then 20 turns to 30, 30th turns to 40th and whatever. And i think hell, mostly everyone i know or loved will have either moved on completely, or died. And that i would be joining them soon at some point.." It's just so hard man. So fucking hard. It's not fair.". _Stan laid it all out completely, now on his knees in a mess.

"_After i left, i'd thought i make a trip back to your old house and see if i found something that would always remind me of you. I found one of your old parkas, and an old picture of us that mom took of us. I guess i kind of slipped deep into a deppressive funk that i felt that i literally didn't give a shit anymore, about anything. I drove back home, had some booze, went for a drive. Next thing i know i see headlights and i'm upside down in the car. Then i start having these flashbacks of my past that involved you. After that, i wake up on some cold ass floor with MY body stuffed in a fucking bag. And so, here i am. Waiting to fufill my ghostly duties i guess."._ Kenny stood there by the dresser staring deeply at his friend. He had been through quite alot in the years since that worse day in his young life, that it took only this moment to spill the truth. "_Oh, Stan." _The blond ghost said to him, while slowly aproaching him, getting on his knees and pulling him into an embrace. Something he hadn't felt in long time from him.

"_Out of all the years i spent looking over you. I had no idea you felt this bad inside." _Kenny stated. "_Wait, you were watching out for me? The whole time?" _Stan asked. "_Yeah. The entire time. And Stan. I got something to tell you as well. I did see you that day in the hospital room. The very day you wanted to come see me after you finally realized, that every moment counted, and you seeing me before i died would be the only thing to give you some closure. Every day since then. At every cemetery visit. Even the one today. I've never left you Stan. _Kenny assured Stan._ "Are you for real?" Stan asked. "For real." Kenny replied. "So you mean your like my Guardian Angel or something?" _Stan wondered. _"Yeah. I am. You see, after someone dies, and they knew someone or others very close to them, they have the option of watching over that person or others.". "Kenny, lets go somewhere. I mean somewhere where we had some memories." "Which place?"_ Kenny asked._ "The school." "You got it dude."_ With that, Kenny helps Stan up to his feet and walk out of the room and out of the house and outside. They begin walking down the street for several blocks until they reach a special spot where Stan can have a quiet place to think. Old South Park Elementary. Coming up to the outter gate and fences, Stan prepares himself to hop the fence. "_Kenny, give me a hand." "Hold on Stan. Your forgetting something." "What?" "Your dead, remember?" "So?"_ Stan asked. _"Well. Ghosts don't need to hop fences. We just hover and float over, or walk through them." "Your shitting me?" "Nope. Watch." _Kenny, with his ghostly self, walks through the fenced gate. "_Wow. I guess i got alot to learn. Here i go." _Stan starts walking smoothly into and through the gate. Seeing all the insides of the steel poles and then seeing the outside of the pole was something that really amazed Stan.

_"That shit was cool. It's like i can see the inside of everything like a x-rays or some shit." "Yeah, it's really something aint it." "Sure is. C'mon lets go. I know a spot where we can go." _With that, Stan walks down the main walk way, through the double doors and into the school. Walking down the dark empty hallway, they come to a stop by a classroom. Their old 3rd grade classroom. "_Well, here we are dude. Lets go."_ Stan walks through the door first with Kenny following behind. "_Damn. This place hasn't changed too much." _Stan stated. "_Yeah. It sure hasn't."_ Kenny said as the two look around their old room. Seeing the rows of desk, Stan walks over to one and takes a seat while Kenny takes a seat to the desk next to him. "_Hey Ken. Let's see if the desk are still the ones we sat in?" "Ok, sure!" _Stan kneels down to take a look under the desk. Right away, Stan notices the underside of the desk. Underneath, was the several pieces of chewed gum under the chair, and old stenciling under the desks top. One text read **[KENNY = BEST BUD FOREVER 6/4/01 ] **with the arrow clearly pointing towards Kenny's desk. And the date was just weeks before the start of their summer break, aswell as their trip to the beach that following July. "_Yep, here it is. Still here eched in wood." "Hey yeah. I remember these." _ Kenny thought back. "_Yeah, i remember that real well. We were board as fuck that day. We got detention for throwing wet shit paper on the ceiling in the boys room."._

_"Oh yeah. I remember that shit too. Mr. Mackey was mad as fuck that day. Remember that look on his face when the janitor told him?" "Yeah, he was like. ""What! Them little bastards are not gonna get away with this mmkay?!""_ Stan while mimicking old principal Mackey. "_Yeah, that was fun day." _Kenny said. "_Hey, didn't you right one under your desk too?" "Yeah i did. As a matter of fact. Come look." _Stan slides over to Kenny's old desk and they both lie down on their back to see the writing underneath. _"Oh dude. You wrote the same thing?" "Mmm hm. I saw what you wrote after you left to lunch the day, and i did the same for you."_ Kenny's text read **[ STAN = BEST BUD FOREVER 6/4/01]**__With the arrows pointed the other direction. "_God, dude. We did have some great times huh?" "Sure did." _Stan, while laying on his back, spreads out his arms in a relaxing moment. With one arm laying on top of Kenny's chest. A period of silence passed between them. Just then, an orb of light began to light up the room. _"Ken. Look at that. What the fuck is that?" "I don't know. Probably one of those randomly lost spirits or something."_ Soon the orb began to take the shape of a human figure. As the shape became clearer, the face looked more distiguised. That face was none other than Jesus. "_Oh shit. Jesus? Is that you?" _Stan asked the glowing figure. "_"Yes Stan. It's me."" _Jesus answered. ""_Please. Come here."" "Uh, ok." _Stan replied as he sat up, stood up and approached._ ""I'm glad i found you two.""_ Jesus said.

"_You are?" _Stan asked._ ""Yes. I came as soon as God told me where you guys were.""_ _"We'll, whats up?" ""I'm hear for one reason. And a very important one." _Jesus said. ""_I'm hear to send you back."" "Send me back?" a confused _Stan asked. ""_Yes. You see Stan. God told me that aparently it's not your time yet."" "Not my time? But.. But i don't want to go back. My old life sucked, and plus.. I'm happy here with Kenny. He's the only one who always understands me." ""I'm sorry Stan. But i have no choice. You must go back. If you were to remain here. There would be no guarantee that your spiritual self can be protected. You must grow spiritually over time before you can move on to the next realm."" "But, but i can't. I just can't! Don't you get it?! My life sucked when i was alive! I can't go back to that!" _A teary eyed Stan pleaded with Jesus. Just then, Kenny brought himself into the conversation. "_No, Stan. He's right. Listen, i was in the same exact spot your in now. After i died, i was that poor, scared, innocent lost child who did not know what to do. And i was litterally begging this guy to send me back. But he didn't. And he didn't because he told me that something like this would happen."_ Kenny stated. "_You see Stan. He chose me to watch over you, and to greet you and show you the way when your time came. I guess it's just not that time yet. So please Stan. For me. Do it for me, so i can do my job. That way when my job is done. We'll both be together again."_ Kenny said softly and bluntly as he could.

"_But dude, i can't. I mean you've been watching over me. So you know how my life was hell being alive. Please, tell him!"_ Stan fell to his knees in grief at thought of being sent back, with tears coming down his face even more. "_I don't need to Stan. We both know your life had shit moments. But that dosn't mean that after all those moments of bullshit, you got back up, and kept going. I know you Stan, you don't give up that easily. C'mon. Get up."_. Kenny reached out to pick Stan up and hold him up straight to his level. "_Well Stan. You ready to go back?" _Kenny asked compassionately. "_Yeah, i guess. But whats gonna happen? Am i gonna feel like i'm dying again, or what?"._ Stan asked. ""_No, it will feel kind of trippy. But you'll handdle it."" _Jesus replied. Kenny moves close next to Stan, standing to his left side while throwing his arm around his shoulder, with Jesus standing to his right. All three walk slowly towards the large space of light that had brought Jesus, with both Kenny and Jessus escorting Stan to it. The light gets brighter and brighter until begins to take the shape of a bluish white tunnel. Stan begins traveling through the tunnel seeing what appeard to be the universe.

The sight of planets, stars, galaxies and nebula's was an amazing sight to see. "_Man. This is so cool." _Stan said while traveling through this vast, awesome and open ended space. "_It is aint it." _ The familiar voice of Kenny appears. However it took some time for Stan to look around and notice his right and left as everything in front of him was just too amazing to take his eyes off. "_Kenny? Kenny?! Where are you?! I can hear you but i can't see you!" _ "_It's ok Stan. I'm still here. I can be one with the whole universe, and talk to you within your thoughts. Look down." _ Kenny asked. Stan looked down to what it was. Below him was an all too familiar blue and green orb of a planet. That planet was earth. _"Hold on Stan. Your going to go in real fast. Once you hit below the atmosphere, you'll wake up again." _Kenny's voice again guiding Stan._ "Got it.". _As predicted, Stan begins to drift back towards earth. Coming closer and closer, he soon enters the atmosphere in a flying brick motion. As the blue outer rim of earts halo dissapears, he comes into the clouds. As Stan comes through, he begins to feel a pitch of heavy exaustion set in. Like the feeling of altitude sickness. _"Oh god. Wh-why do i feel so tired?" _a barely conscious Stan said. "_Your fine. It's all part of the process. Just let it come Stan. Let it come."_ Kenny slowly fading voice spoke. _"I'-i'll try dude." _A near passed out Stan said while passing though the clouds like that falling brick. _"K-kenny." _a droused Stan said. _"Yeah Stan?" _Kenny replied. "_Th-thank you dude." _Stan very softly mutterd out before passing out completely and shutting his eyes where the darkness of his eyelids shielded out any and all surrounding light from the outside.

"_I'll be waiting Stan. I will always be there for you." _The very faint and a distance voice of Kenny's called out. Soon after, a pair of eyes shoot open to the formerly lifeless body of Stan Marsh. Awaking in a gasp of air sitting inside an open body bag that sat on a steel shelf about five feet up off the floor, in a very cold, blue dim room._ "Oh fuck. That was one hell of a trip.. Hey. Why i'm i so cold though?"_ Just then, a group of voices came closer, and the only door to the cold tiled room opened. Putting his hand up over his face to shield the bright light. They were two guys dressed in white coats. "_(Hospital Tech 1) So did you here about that one kid who came in from the accident on Starks Road?" "(Hospital Tech 2) Yeah. They zapped him like four times before he.. W-whoa SHIT!"_. The stunned tech was freaked out by the sight of an actual living body moving around in the unzipped body bag, sitting in a place meant for the storage of dead people. The stiched up, bruised, battered but now live again body of Stan Marsh moaned and reached out in pain to the techs. "_P-please. Help.. me.". _Before blacking out from exsaustion.

*_Flashback to waking up in the Morgue*_

_-(Stan) "No, no, no, no, no, no! Please God, no, it can't be me!"-_

_*Flashback to present*_

_-(Hospital Doctor 1) "Take it easy with him! How long has he been in there?!-_

_-(Hospital Tech 2) "I don't know! Five, maybe six hours."-_

_-(Hospital Doctor 2) "Take him to the fourth floor ICU! And tell them to turn the heaters on!"-_

_*Flashback to Stan's house*_

_-(Stan) "It's nice to be back home."-_

_-(Stan) Fuck. Being dead is like being alive.. Except it's like, everyone ignores you on purpose."-_

_*Flashback to present*_

_-(Hospital Doctor 1) "B.P.M is at 22. Lets set him up on an Adrenaline drip ASAP!"-_

_-(Hospital Doctor 2) "Got it. Inserting catheter into vain now!"-_

_*Flashback to Stan's room*_

_-(Stan) "Goddamn, i mist you buddy!"-_

_-(Kenny) "You missed me. But i missed you even more."-_

_*Flashback to present*_

_-(Hospital Doctor 2) "B.P.M is rising and steadying at 34!"-_

_-(Hospital Doctor 1) "Alright, guys. Ready him for transfusion. O Negative, type and cross six units! Get that needle into a vain."-_

_-(Hospital Tech 1) "Bags and tube attached. Ready for transfusion on your go!"-_

_*Flashback to the school*_

_-(Kenny) "Yeah, i remember that real well. We were board as fuck that day. We got detention for throwing wet shit paper on the ceiling in the boys room."-_

_-(Stan) "Oh yeah, i remember that shit too. Mr. Mackey was mad as fuck that day."-_

_*Flashback to present*_

_-(Hospital Doctor 2) "Looks like his B.P.M is holding steady at a normal 40 beats, sir. Should we bring him out of it yet?"-_

_-(Hospital Doctor 1) "Not yet. Got make sure the brain scan shows a return in postive response. Bring him out too soon, we might do more damage than what theres done. Till then he's unconscious."-_

_-(Hospital Doctor 2) "Understood."-_

_*Flashback to the school*_

_-(Stan) "Ken. Look at that. What the fuck it that?"-_

_-(Kenny) "I don't know. Probably one of those randomly lost spirits or something."-_

_-(Stan) "Oh shit. Jesus? Is that you?"-_

_-(Jesus) ""I'm glad i found you two.""-_

_-(Jesus) ""I'm here to send you back.""-_

_-(Stan) "Send me back? Not my time?"-_

_-(Stan) "But i can't, i just can't. I just can't! Don't you get it?! My life sucked when i was alive! I can't go back to that!"-_

_-(Kenny) "No, Stan. He's right. He chose me to watch over you."-_

_-(Kenny) "We'll both be together again."-_

_-(Kenny) "Well Stan. You ready to go back?"-_

_-(Stan) "Yeah, i guess."-_

_*Flashback to Stan's Astral return*_

_-(Stan) "Man. This is so cool."-_

_-(Stan) "Kenny? Kenny?! Where are you?! I can here you but i can't see you!"-_

_-(Kenny's-voice) "It's ok Stan. I'm still here. I can be one with the whole universe, and talk to you within your thoughts. Look down"-_

_-(Kenny's-voice) "Once you hit below the atmosphere, you'll wake up again."-_

_-(Stan) Oh god, Wh-why do i feel so tired?"-_

_-(Kenny's-voice) Your fine. Just let it come Stan. Let it come."-_

_-(Stan) "K-kenny."-_

_-(Kenny's-voice) "Yeah Stan?"-_

_-(Stan) "Th-thank you dude."-_

_[Blacking out]_

_*End of flashbacks*_

Once more, a set of blurry blue eyes opened to the world. This time in a white lit hospital room. _"Oh man. Where the fuck am i now?" _A weary Stan said. Noticing around him, the machines, tubes and wires going every which way, along with his head and chest heavely bandaged. Then a long thick tube running deep into the bottom of his right arm, filled with a deep red fluid, presumably blood. And another tube filled with a Whitish/Yellow fluid of Plasma going into the same arm. _"The fuck is this?" _Stan, sitting up while trying to make sense of his current situation. Just then, a doctor had just entered the room._ "Ah, your awake." _the man said. _"Hey doc. Wh-what happened? How long was i out for? What day is it?"_ a confused Stan said. _"Well Mr. Marsh, you were in a real nasty car accident about two days ago. You were brought here right after. Soon as you came, you were a mess. So we went right to work on you. You had a shattered leg, broken ribs, severe trauma to the sternum, an ultra severe concusion and lost nearly 30% of your blood. We zapped your heart like three times to get it back. And when that didn't work, we jammed an Adrenaline shot into it, But.."_ The doctor paused for a moment and looked to the floor._ "But what?" _Stan asked. _"Well this is going to be hard to understand. I mean, me and my staff are still trying to understand it. But you died. And i mean really died. Flat line, Zero brain activity, no blood flow to anywhere dead. And once we pronounced your Time of Death.. We took your body, stripped your clothes, slapped a toe-tag on you and stuffed you in a body bag and off to the morgue. Your body was sitting in there for hours. But then when one of our tech's went in to check for storage space, one of them saw you moving around, reaching out, and looking pretty alive. You passed out again. They carried you out of there and into a nearby clerk desk. They grabed the nearest stretcher, got some staff and wheeled you to the clossest E.R.. We spent two hours trying to replace lost blood, and monitoring your brain. While doing that, we noticed your brain activity would change from very spartial activity, to no activity. Your heart rate rose to the normal 30 BPM, to the lower teens." _The doctor laid out the details for Stan to grasp.

_"So, thats how it all played out for us. I can sure tell you Mr. Marsh, your case something that will go down in many textbook cases. You really amazed us." "You know doc. I would call you guy's crazy after hearing all that but.. I'm not. I believe you. Every last bit of it." _Stan said. "_Well, i'd better get going. Got a paitent upstairs to attend to. Check on you latter."_ the doctor exits the room. Later around midday, Stan was sitting up in the bed, watching T.V. that was mounted to the wall, when all of a sudden Stan herd a knock at the door. "_Come in!" _Stan said. An officer in uniform entered the room. That familiar officer again being Craig Tucker. "_Well, your looking better." _Craig's first statement he got out. _"Don't you got some tickets to write?" _Stan replied. _"Now is that anyway to talk to a friend? Let alone to someone who tried saving your life? South Park's finnest." "Sorry. I guess it must me the I.V's they got me on or something. I know you tried."._ Craig removed his patrol cap and held it under his arm. "_I suppose your here to cuff and charge me with something huh?" "No. Not really." _ Craig statted. "_What do you mean?" _Stan asked. "_We'll. Technically, State of Colorado: Policy on Grounds for Conviction, Section C, -6. Law enforcement can't legally charge a dead man with DUI. So you can't be arrested if an incident report officially lists you as Dead at the Scene." _Craig told Stan. "_But i thought i died here? I mean one of the Docs flat out told me i died here, and nowhere else." "Damnit Marsh, don't you get it? I know you didn't die there. But you looked so fucked up, that i just simply listed you as Dead at the Scene. You see. I did you a favor by doing that. I just didn't know you were actually gonna die for sure. So i'm still trying to wrap my mind around that still. So please Stan, next time you try to kill yourself, do it when your sober, and not on some empty fucking road in the middle of the woods in 40 degree weather. Ok?"._ Craig then stood up off the bed. "_Gotta jet, Marsh. Lay off the Morphine too."_ "_Yeah, later then.". As Craig left the room._

_*Two Weeks Later*_

Two weeks after finally leaving the hospital, and after going throgh one of possibly the biggest, and most intense experience of his life, Stan Marsh makes his way yet again to the South Park Public Cemetery. Pulling up into the cemetery in a white Chevy Malibu rental. Getting out slow, with aid of a cane to keep him steady, as his right leg was still sore after aditional surgeries to correct the damage. Walks his way toward Kenny's grave. "_Hey Ken.. Well i'd say that was a hell of a time we had, wasn't it? I'm doing alright. Aside from this fuckin cane i gotta cary around until my leg gets fixed. I gotta drive this fuckin loaner car until i have enough cash from my shit job, so i can buy that new Ram. It's supposed to be all bad and shit with the new redesign, so i'm so stoked. You know i'm so glad i didn't get my ass hauled in for the DUI thing. Craig being the asshole he is, can sometimes come through for you. Even that badge he polishes every five minutes. Between you and me. I think he's eyeing to be Chief or some big time hot shit of the town. Cartman is also doing alrihgt. Six more months and he said he'll be out. But he still has to do a remaing year of parole until he's cleared. He sent me an message two days ago. He said that he couldn't wait to leave that shithole. But said it was better than getting anal raped in Pelican Bay. Kyle got a new promotion too... Well, thats all i got to bullshit about man. I've thought about stopping by more often, you know, to help me more with the grieving process and shit. It's what my dads shrink says anyway. Well, gotta bounce dude. Catch you later." _Stan placing a hand on the headstone. Back in the car, While buckling his belt, Stan pauses for a few minutes before starting the ignition. Looking at the cemetery for one last time. -""Where we going now?""- Once again, that familiar voice sounded off. "_Whoa! Dude? Don't scare the shit out of me like that." _Kenny, sitting in the passanger seat right next to him. "Oww, shit." Stan, holding onto his chest in a careful manner. "_Shit dude. I didn't mean to give you a heart attack." "No. Except my fucking heart still feels the effects of having a 3 pound steering wheel rammed into it!" "Ok, ok Stanskey, sorry. I didn't know."_ Kenny apologizing with a few laughs. "_Don't sweat it. I just can't stand all these surguries, medications and shit for all my jacked up parts, so i guess i'm a little irritable."_

_"You know Stan, i can help you with that leg." _Kenny mentioned. _"Really?" "Sure."_ Kenny placed his hand over the top of Stan's right leg. A glow emits from the bottom of Kenny's hand. "_Ok. Now, move your leg." _Kenny commanded. _"Oh god. What did. How. How did you do that? The pain's gone!" "Yep. Thats one of many powers you can earn over time." "Wow. If thats the case. Then i can't wait to have my turn try it out." "I bet. Well Stan. Gotta go." "Awww. Right now? Can't you stay a bit longer?" "C'mon now Stan, we wen't through this before. I got a job to do. And thats to watch over you. And i can't do that being stuck here 24/7 now, can i?" "I-ugh. No. You can't i guess. But can't i atleast get one last hug before you go?" "Why not."_ Kenny leans into Stan, Stan does the same and squeeze tightly. "_By the way, Stan. Check your room when you get home." "Why?" "Lets say it's a little something that will keep you thinking of me." _With that, Kenny slowly dissapears from Stan's view. "_But Kenny? Wait! What is it?. Damn. Just like him. Always leaves before telling you the full stuff." _Stan turns the key, and begins his drive back home.

After a half hour, Stan makes it back to his house. Pulling and parking into his driveway, Stan starts conversing with himself while walking to the front door. "_What the fuck was Kenny talking about? Something that will keep me thinking of him?". _Stan also forgot that he was still using the cane, even though he no longer needed it. "_And why the fuck am i still using this thing?" _Stan takes the cane and throws it towards the curb side garbage cans. Walking through and clossing the door behind him, Stan walks to his bedroom up the stairs. Turning the knob and walking in, the first thing Stan sees, is a familiar orange parka laying on top of his mattress, but on a closer look, he finds two pictures. That very picture being of them both on the first day of school, the one he looked at the night he wrecked. And the other picture was of him and Kenny at the beach. Looking at the plain white back of the photo, is a text writen down in marker. The text read. **"**_**Hang in there dude. Always watching you!"**_. Just then he hears a whistle coming from outside. Looking out his window, he sees Kenny leaning against his car. Kenny gives Stan wave. Looking in directions, Kenny starts walking away and down the street. Stan takes another glance at the picture, and again at Kenny as he walked further down the street. Kenny looks back at Stan, pointing back at him, in a manner assuring him he is always watching out for him. All the time. Always.

-*End of story*-


End file.
